Numerous designs of internal combustion engines have been proposed, developed and employed over the years. Since the early advent of the conventional reciprocating piston engine, technology has been directed to ways to reduce engine size, weight and cost in relation to power output, as well as to increase efficiency and reduce polluting emissions of the internal combustion engine. One approach in the effort to more efficiently convert combustion energy into rotational motion of a drive shaft has been the development of the rotary engine which in its basic arrangement, employs a rotor element having plural peripheral faces and apices mounted for eccentric rotation within a housing, with the apices sweepingly engaging the inner surfaces of the housing during rotor movement to divide the same into respective variable volume intake, compression, combustion and expansion chambers.
Certain work machines having rotary or orbital type piston elements mounted for movement in a housing unit are disclosed in the following patents which were developed or came to light in connection with the filling and examination of my above-mentioned copending application:
U.S. Pat. No. 336,144 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,969,651 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,117,662 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,200 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,413 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,566 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,707,073 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,578 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,828 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,346 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,595 PA1 Austrian Pat. No. 164,947 PA1 Italian Pat. No. 453,386
From a review of such patented literature, it appears that the various devices shown and described therein are of relatively complicated construction, and it is not known that any of such devices have found commercial acceptance as an internal combustion engine.
In regard to the internal combustion engines in present commercial use, the reciprocating piston engines of the prior art have the inherent disadvantage of poor efficiency due to the loss of power in translating reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotary motion of the crankshaft because of misdirection of power forces through connecting rods and crank arms at other than at optimum 90.degree. angle to the direction of eccentricity of the crankshaft during its rotation. Although the rotary type engines provide advantage over the reciprocating piston engines in weight reduction and more efficient generation of rotary motion to the crankshaft, such rotary engines have had a continuous problem of wear of the apices of the rotor and housing wall due to their continuous sliding contact to seal and separate the fluid chambers of the engine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an internal combustion, four-cycle engine construction of the general type described in my aforesaid copending application which overcomes many of the disadvantages found in internal combustion engines of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an engine construction having more efficient transfer of combustion power forces to crankshaft rotation during each revolution of the crankshaft, with reduction of frictional wear on the relative moving surfaces of the engine, thereby providing a more efficient engine operation.
It is a further object to provide a four-cycle, internal combustion engine of the type described in my aforesaid application comprising an engine housing defining an internal compartment having a non-rotatable inner body or piston element mounted for orbital movement in the compartment on an eccentric of the engine drive shaft, and defining with the housing and one or more movable wall members therein at least one group of chambers for fluid intake and compression, power or combustion, and exhaust of combustible fluids during orbital movement of the inner body.
It is a further object to provide a further embodiment of an internal combustion engine of the general type described in my pending application.